USA Today Surprised Chick-Fil-A Didn’t Suffer from ‘PR Nightmare’

According to
the PR “experts” in USA Today's rolodex, it’s downright unnatural that Chick-fil-A is a
successful and thriving business. Who knew that so many people supported
traditional marriage?

In a piece
headlined “Surprise:
PR nightmare didn’t damage Chick-fil-A,” Bruce Horovitz was shocked that
the popular chicken chain’s markets share and awareness increased after
President Dan Cathy told a religious publication his company was “guilty as
charged” in supporting the biblical definition of marriage.

The
“inflammatory” remarks cued immediate
outrage and hate from the left. MSNBC host Thomas Roberts declared any
supporter of Chick-fil-A was a “chicken-eating Judas.” Other networks whipped
up bigotry labels and Chicago mayor Rahm
Emmanuel audaciously declared war against the chain, claiming he would never
allow Chick-fil-A in Chicago.

But liberals
weren’t prepared for the thousands of people who showed up to support Chick-fil-A
on “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.” How could they, when the left thinks all
people should hold their own ideals and not have an opinion of their own.

USA Today
included comments from stunned PR experts who didn’t expect the chain to
survive. “‘Chick-fil-A did everything wrong by the book,’ said Chris Goddard
president of CGPR. ‘Their president shot from the hip, and his PR team was not
equipped or prepared to respond. It was a PR disaster.’”

Horovitz
quoted another marketing honcho, who suggested some companies can get away with
taking a stand. “‘Brands that take risks can win big rewards, but they
must be prepared for the backlash that comes with it,’ says Ronn Torossian, CEO
at 5WPR. ‘They were saying to their core constituency: Here's what we believe.”

Or maybe, just maybe, Cathy’s position wasn’t nearly as
controversial as the media made it out to be. Or maybe, just maybe, a lot of
people don’t feel the need to politicize a convenient, tasty meal.

USA Today
couldn’t resist getting in one last shot at Chick-fil-A. “In a social media
world any PR can be good PR,” Horovitz said lamely. Indeed, since Chick-fil-A
has broadened its regular customer base in 28 of 35 social media markets.

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